


Barry Knew

by Sara_Darling



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Anxiety, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Probqbly ooc, Protective Mick, This is entire fic is about Barry having an anxiety attack, anxiety attack, i think, protective Len
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 22:34:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8551795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sara_Darling/pseuds/Sara_Darling
Summary: Barry knew the beginnings of an anxiety attack when he felt one. He just wasn't always equipped to handle it.This is a fic about anxiety. Don't read if it will upset you.





	

Barry had known from the moment he had woken up. He had known it in the knot in his throat he couldn’t swallow. In the way his knees shook from the moment he stood up from his bed. He had known it, but he had also known that- between his nine month coma and flash business- he had used up all of his sick days. So he got dressed and scarfed down three calorie bars ignoring the queasy way his stomach felt. Joe had known as soon as he looked at him. He was more disheveled than usual and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in a week. Joe told him to go home, that Singh would understand. But Barry insisted on staying.  


It felt like anything that could go wrong did. But maybe that was just because Barry knew. The way he started whenever anyone opened the door to his lab. How he jerked away whenever anyone touched him. He was beyond relieved when his shift was over. Barry wanted nothing more than to go home, curl up under his blanket, and watch Netflix until this feeling passed. He could feel the bright, shiny hope that maybe he could get through the day without a complete breakdown. Apparently the city felt the hope as well and wanted to squash it, because Cisco called him about a robbery as soon as he got home.  


But Barry had known. He had known that the knot in his throat was anxiety. The shakiness in his legs and jumpiness were as well. He had known so why was he here? Why was he standing across from Captain Cold and Heatwave and feeling like he couldn’t breathe? His hands had started to shake a moment ago and it seemed to be spreading to the rest of him. He reached up a hand to say something through the comms, but they were off. Cisco always turned them off when he wasn’t fighting Cold. He claimed to get annoyed with their ‘flirting’. This was usually fine. Right now it was just another thing to worry about. Cold was the first of the two to notice something was wrong. “You okay, Scarlet?” Cold’s voice sounded warbled in his ears. Like they had been stuffed with cotton balls.  


The whir of the Heat Gun powering down broke through some of the haze that settled over him. Barry must have closed his eyes at some point because he suddenly couldn’t see anything. “Of course he isn’t, Lenny. Look at ‘im,” came the grunted response from Heatwave. There was a hand on his face, wiping away a steady stream of tears. Barry didn’t remember starting to cry. The hand was large and warm and made Barry feel safe.  
Two voices surrounded him. They were telling him he was okay. That this would pass. Part of him knew they were right. Another part; the part of him that was so, so scared and so, so tired; felt like he would never stop feeling this way. Barry felt suffocated, he needed to get out of the suit. All of a sudden it was too tight. “Have to- have to take it off,” he gasped out between sobs.  


“Okay, okay. That’s fine, but not here okay, Doll?” a deep voice rumbled in his ear. Barry still felt like he was swimming in cotton and didn’t think he could move. This problem was easily solved when someone, presumably Heatwave, swept him up and carried him. Fresh air hit Barry in the face and he frantically tried to breathe in as much as he could. He heard a set of what sounded like car doors open and close before he was set on a blanket. Four hands helped him remove the Flash suit. They steadied him when he became frantic in his movements and managed to get the suit off quickly. Sitting there in the cold, night air he started to feel more like himself. Calming down after an attack always felt like wrestling himself out of a pool of Jell-O. Or at least what he imagines that would feel like.  


Upon opening his eyes he realized he was sat on a blanket stretched across the bed of a pickup truck. Another blanket had been tossed over his shoulders. “Good, you’re awake,” the voice at his side almost made him jump. Lying to his right was Mick Rory, also known as Heatwave. He was blinking slowly as if he had just woken up. “You’ve been out for nearly thirty minutes, doll. Lenny and I took a little cat nap,” he gestured behind Barry. Leonard Snart was sitting there with a frown on his face. Rory stood up and stretched.  


“I’m sorry,” Barry blurted as soon as the last bit of daze left his mind. “I shouldn’t have- it was unprofessional of me too… Well, I mean what we do isn’t professional but. What I mean to say is, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have made you take care of me when I was in such a state,” both men stared at him impassively while he spoke. Leonard snorted and shook his head. He pushed himself off the bed and moved to stand next to his partner.  


“Believe me, scarlet, we could have left you there if we wanted to. But even we supervillains aren’t that cold,” he drawled. Rory reached out a hand and helped him up from his spot as well. “Mick here does know your name now. Couldn’t hide it in the heat of the moment,” Leonard actually looked apologetic.  


Barry nodded, “No, its fine. I should’ve known better than to try to fight crime today.” Rory shoved a set of clothes at him and pulled Leonard away. The two moved to stand at the front of the truck at started to whisper back and forth. Barry slipped into a t-shirt that hung off of him and a pair of sweatpants that were too short in the legs. He knew he could speed away, but he just felt so tired. Maybe Snart and Rory would give him a ride home. Of course then he would have tell them where he lived. Not that Barry didn’t suspect Leonard already knew, but it was the principal of the matter. You don’t tell your archenemy where you live. It’s rule number one in the hero hand guide.  


Leonard’s voice cut off his train of thought. “Come on, Barry, you’re going to chill with us tonight,” he looked like he was smiling. It looked good on him.  


Years later Barry would say he knew that there was good in Leonard and Mick. Both of them would put up a fight, claiming that they were still dastardly villains causing mayhem and destruction. But they would smile, because they knew that they were happy on this side of the law if it meant they got to have Barry.


End file.
